U.S. of A. - Version 2011.1

We're half way through our month-long US visit, and it seems past time for an update!  I'm having to squeeze this in between sleeping in, taking walks, visiting with family and eating.  Tough life.

Arriving in Orlando means one less stop along the way, but it doesn't seem to mean getting to the final destination a whole lot sooner - I think we waited half past forever for our bags to arrive.  Then it took the rest of forever to decide which of all the choices of cars we could live with for four weeks.  Werner finally decided on a cool-looking Chrysler.

It was too late for the kids too greet us, but they were well-primed so Dylan and Hayden welcomed us the next morning.  Sweet!  This photo is "posterized" - cool effect.

After just three nights, we headed to Atlanta so we wouldn't miss seeing Julia and Larry who were heading off on their anuual Cancun-in-winter trip.  Naturally, there was a get together with the whole crew, this time at a local Mexican restaurant. 

The highlight for me is always my sisters .....

But everyone gets attention.  Mother was the proud recipient of yet another unique Werner-made birdhouse.  It will have to compete with lots of others that she and Daddy had put up over the years.  Not to mention lots of natural places for birds to build homes!

Then off to Florida again and Hunter and Hannah.  What a hoot!  We arrived while they were in school but they came in jumping up and down like they used to do meeting us at the airport.  Love it!!

Here's Hannah cleaning up after a muffin-making spree,



and Hunter trying out Dad's glasses.  You can see he still has a head full of thick curls. And BRACES!

On the weekend we hit Five Guys at Pier Park for hamburgers and checked out the beach.  It's still there, still white, still wonderful. 

Home Again Blog

Introduction

Blogging. This is a blog and I blog. But there are 1. bloggers and there are 2. bloggers. I'm the second sort.

The 1. sort are the ones who do it for a wide audience, either 1) for a living or 2) to

substitute for living or 3) those who do it all

the time and think they can make a living

from it. Needless to say, this is not any of those sorts of blogs.

So, the 2. sort is this sort: a blog that makes me feel like I have to update it regularly and take care of it though I have no idea who reads it or who cares what I write but at the same time if I don't do it it feels like I'm letting someone down, even if it is only me. I've been somewhat irregular lately.

Here is a little catch up, I guess mostly for me so that I know where I am in my life the next time I write.

Atlanta -- All family all the time. Mother came to Gina and Steve's with waffle irons and batter and all of us were so busy eating I didn't get pictures of the food or the cookette. We chatted, took Mother to lunch and then had more food at Julia's. We ate a lot on this trip. A lot. The strange guy is Eli in his Spiderman swim gear. Naturally, he LOVED it!

Lynn Haven -- Getting back to Florida in time for the 4th meant another great fireworks show at the Mallory's - along with more food (A LOT) and time on the Wave Runners and then another great day at Shell Island. There was enough time to sew an outfit for Hannah's doll - I'll have to do more of that! Fun!

Cedar Key -- This is one of our favorite Florida spots - the Island Hotel in Cedar Key. It's only

got better since our last visit in 1993 - the village is more spruced up, there are a few more craft and art studios, the kitchen at the hotel has been upgraded. NO TV. NO PHONE. NO INTERNET ACCESS. The place is quiet - actually quieter since they now have central air instead of window units. We met a really friendly and talkative guy in the bar at the hotel - there on his 10th consecutive vacation. He even met his future wife there! What a recommendation.

Orlando -- Dylan and Hayden just keep growing! Dylan is talking up a storm, they both love the pool in the backyard (who wouldn't!) and I got more projects done - finished the bed covers, curtain and pillows for Dylan's big girl bed. Lee and Crissy had been painting downstairs - looks great - and naturally they offered plenty of food while we were there.

Needless to say, the return trip was fine, except for the service on the plane; it just gets worse and worse. "Is orange juice enough for you?" "Some coffee would be nice." "Oh ok. Black ok?" "Some milk would be nice." Heavy sigh. "Here." NOT Delta this time - Northwest. I guess someone was having a bad day and it wasn't me.

We've done the laundry, cleaned the house, got our sleep cycle corrected and are now waiting for the next round: Amina arrives this afternoon for a week with Oma und Opa!

Hunter and Hannah in Germany

Has anyone noticed that there have been no entries the last three weeks? Hunter and Hannah have kept us quite busy. If you want all the details, go to the blog that we set up for the parents. Our visit to Burg Eltz and the Watt were particularly fun.

Otherwise, here's a summary - briefly.

We've been to the market, eaten lots of Bratwurst (Hunter, not Hannah), eaten lots of strawberries (Hannah, not Hunter), biked many many kilometers, walked more than a few, met with family, got to know new friends.

The very first weekend they held a festival at the harbor, including a Ferris wheel! What fun.

Burg Eltz was a real highlight. The castle itself is interesting, and getting to it is a trek and a half! The kids were real troopers and it was a great day.

We made and sailed boats on the Aue, a small river near us.

We got our feet all muddy.

There was family to get in touch with again - always fun.

And of course we read every night. Or rather, I read and they listened, but that's fun for all of us.

Next Monday it's back to the US of A and the normal stuff. I hope they remember lfondly lots of the not-so-normal stuff

Click here for the slide show and enjoy.

Happy Birthday, Dylan Rose

One year old today. Wish we could be there to share the day (and some cake and company), but we did send a present.

Here it is: a dress and a doll.

The fabric has little rosebuds all over - how appropriate! And the pattern was the same one I used for the dress Hannah wore to Lee and Crissy's wedding. Little connections.

Looking for a baby doll is actually harder than sewing a little dress! It has to be small enough and big enough and soft enough and sweet enough. I hope this one has enough!

I made the baby a dress (almost) like Dylan's, so they can play dress up together.

Amina Visit

Amina arrived on Tuesday and stayed till Sunday. We did NOT have wonderful weather! It was rainy and cool and then really cool! But we did some things between the rain.

We went into town a couple of times so we could help Werner's mother with getting stuff done. Here's Amina on one of the carvings in front of the cathedral.

And we went -again - to the Zoo in Bremerhaven that features sea animals. Here's how Amina measures up against the Polar Bear.

And her eyelashes are still as long as ever.

Hunter and Hannah in Bremen

Of course we are totally pooped since we are "mom" and "dad" and entertainers-in-residence, but I'm really glad the kids are here this long. It takes a week to get used to each other and make adjustments and get the kinks worked out. It's fun regardless, but having this extra time is really nice.

For details, check out the blog for the trip but if that's a chore, here are a few highlights.

We've been biking. That is the activity most loved and done most often - EVERY DAY. It's either a little trip to the store or a ride around the river, or a longer tour to the beach or town or ice cream or ... any excuse will do. They never tire of it. What fun!

Hannah's learned to hang clothes on the line. Hunter can trim trees and dry dishes.

They're just are crazy about the chocolate surprise eggs (Überraschungseier) that they have known now for about three years. It's a chocolate egg with a little toy inside, and a surprise because you never know what you're going to get. Makes for interesting negotiations. They now have a bigger collection!

They've seen Amina again and met their other "cousins" in Affinghausen. They ask after each visit "Can we see them again?" The language barrier is no barrier at all when kids get together to play.

And there's Fußball (soccer) and since Germany has got through to the finals, it has been lots of fun and really noisy every night after the game - so many cars on the street, honking horns and shouting. We have a big fan at home. Even more fun.

It's quickly drawing to a close. Thursday morning early we leave on the fast train for the south and Friday we'll pick up Mom and Dad in Munich and everything will be a bit different. But still fun!

Panama City Pause

1. Drive to Tallahassee and visit Nancy.

It was too short. We both felt pretty rotten, two colds from two different origins. But it's always refreshing to spend some time there. Later treatments for sinusitus (me) and pneumonia (Nancy) aside.

2. Drive to Panama City. Settle in. Cough. Sleep poorly. Go to Doc. Get drugs. Feel better.

Before the doctor's visit, we visited the boat and the beach. It's almost as effective as going to the doctor but somehow the salt water doesn't kill viruses the way it used to. Regardless, it was a wonderful day with lots of sunshine and beach food and water and fun.

There's water close to home, too. One day at the pool is not enough, but we squeezed in a visit between the thunder and the lightening and the rain.

Hannah's been doing some modeling for a friend's website business. Cute clothes custom made. I think she's a great marketing asset, don't you?

Friday night Michelle arranged a visit to "How Great Your Art" - a place where local artists show a bunch of rank amateurs how to paint a picture. We'd seen earlier efforts by M+J and knew what to expect. Our teacher/artist was really artsy and fun and comfy and it was a nice group. The task was a bit challenging, though, but we did a great job! Agree, or don't tell us otherwise.

Now the US visit is done and we leave Sunday for Germany, Hunter and Hannah as excess baggage! We're looking forward to a great time. More posts to follow!!

Notes from Florida, Part 2

As much fun as it was with Hunter and Hannah (and Mom and Dad), they were not the major reason for this trip -- the smallest and newest of the bunch was the one I had to see: Dylan Rose. Here she is. Absolutely worth the trip!! Is she a cutie or what ??

It really was Halloween in Orlando - decorated houses and more kids in costumes. Dylan Rose dressed down a bit - the pumpkin was way to warm ! Hayden was a bit warm in his dragon costume, but he still impressed a few folks walking around the neighborhood.

Here's a sort of family portrait - getting everyone togther at the same time and awake proved impossible! As Lee said, sleep deprivation is a fact of life at their house right now.

Don't look too closely at this picture of me with Hayden and Dylan - neither was particularly happy at that moment - so I had to be happy enough for all of us.

And here's Hayden in motion; Dylan doesn't do all that much moving around, so I'll get her next time!